First-rib stress fracture in two adolescent swimmers: a case report

First-rib stress fractures have been described in adolescent athletes in various sports, with only one prior case report of first-rib stress fractures in an adolescent female swimmer. There is a need for research on the cause, management, and prevention of these injuries as they lead to significant morbidity and critical time away from sport for these aspiring athletes. We aimed to describe first-rib stress fractures as a potential cause for non-specific atraumatic chronic shoulder pain in adolescent swimmers and to discuss the different presentations, unique risk factors, treatment, and potential injury prevention strategies of such fractures. We discussed two such cases which were successfully treated with activity modification with restriction of all overhead activity, gradually progressive physical therapy and a return to swimming protocol. First-rib stress fractures can vary in presentation and should be in the differential diagnosis in adolescent swimmers with chronic shoulder pain. These injuries can be successfully managed with rest from overhead activities and physical therapy. Gradual return to competitive swimming can be achieved even with non-union of a first-rib stress fracture. Emphasis on balanced strength training in different muscle groups and proper swimming technique is essential to prevent these injuries.     

Teacher and school characteristics and their influence on curriculum implementation

Reform‐based curriculum materials have been suggested as a mechanism to make inquiry‐based instruction more prevalent in secondary science classrooms, specifically when accompanied by comprehensive professional development (Loucks‐Horsley, Hewson, Love, & Stiles, 1998 ; Powell & Anderson, 2002 ). This research examines the implementation of a reform‐based high school chemistry curriculum in a large, urban school district. We explicitly consider the role of the teachers' knowledge and beliefs in their implementation of the reform‐based chemistry curriculum, as well as school level factors. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected in the form of beliefs interviews and classroom observations from 27 high school chemistry teachers. Analysis of the data revealed that implementation of the curriculum was strongly influenced by the teachers' beliefs about teaching and learning, and the presence of a supportive network at their school sites. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 883–907, 2007     

Interactive Training Model: Enhancing Beginning Counseling Student Development

The authors propose the Interactive Training Model (ITM), a full classroom role play experience, as a method for helping student counselors develop essential interviewing and counseling skills and self‐awareness as required by the 2009 Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs Standards. This pre‐post, quasiexperimental study involving 45 master's‐level students indicated that those who participated in the ITM made greater gains in supervisee development compared with those who participated in a traditional peer feedback model. Narrative student feedback regarding the use of ITM in an essential skills course is presented, and implications for counselor education are discussed.     

PERCEPTIONS AND PRACTICES OF CULTURALLY RELEVANT SCIENCE TEACHING IN AMERICAN INDIAN CLASSROOMS

This study explores the perceptions of culturally relevant science teaching of 35 teachers of American Indian students. These teachers participated in professional development designed to help them better understand climate change science content and teaching climate change using both Western science and traditional and cultural knowledge. Teacher perceptions of practices using culturally relevant instruction were evaluated. The data were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The results from the survey analysis show that the teachers’ existing practices of culturally relevant science teaching were limited in choosing topics relevant to American Indian culture. We found three common themes from the teachers’ perceptions of culturally relevant science teaching, meaning of culturally relevant science teaching, teaching strategies, and purpose of culturally relevant science teaching from the qualitative data. We also found that teachers with higher survey scores perceive culturally relevant science teaching differently than teachers with lower survey scores, specifically for the purposes and teaching strategies of culturally relevant science teaching. The results show that teachers with higher survey scores tended to perceive culturally relevant science teaching as a two-way learning process between teachers and students where the teachers can learn traditional science knowledge from the students. They also tend to perceive using concrete traditional science examples as effective teaching strategy for culturally relevant science teaching and building strong relationships with American Indian students as the most important purpose of culturally relevant science teaching. We also discuss common challenges faced by science teachers when trying to implement culturally relevant science teaching with American Indian students.     

A DEAN'S AND DEPARTMENT CHAIR'S GUIDE TO DOCUMENTING COMPETENCY‐BASED PROGRAM ANALYSIS AND DESIGN IN THE 2‐YEAR COLLEGE

Changes in the new Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act of 1990 have added to existing state and regional accrediting agency pressures for competency‐based instruction. Because of these increasing pressures, deans, department chairs, and administrators of federal vocational funds administered under the act are, and will continue to be, required to provide evidence that their programs are competency based. A three‐step model to competency‐based programs as well as administrator guidelines for needed documentation are presented.     

Motivational Profile and Academic Achievement Among Students Enrolled in Different Schooling Tracks

From the contextual perspective, researchers argue that the relevance and weight of motivational variables of students' functioning vary depending on different dimensions related to individual, cultural or situational characteristics. The first objective of this study examined this contention by comparing self-perceptions of competence, learning goals and judgments of usefulness of school subjects as motivational determinants of high school students' commitment and achievement according to their assignment to their learning abilities. The second objective was to compare how these variables related to academic commitment and achievement according to the type of student and two school subjects. Two-hundred-and-twenty-six high school students from a same school participated sixty-one were learning disabled students, 60 were high achievers and 105 were average students. Findings suggest that the relevance of the motivational variables did not vary much across either the type of student or the school subjects. They also support Bandura's view about the primary role of self-perceptions of competence in students' academic commitment and achievement.     

Peer Review in Education: Promoting Collaboration, Written Expression, Critical Thinking, and Professional Responsibility

This article discusses the application of the peer review process as a pedagogical instrument for the promotion of written expression, collaborative work, critical thinking, and professional responsibility among Informatics and Engineering majors. The approach is introduced with a motivation, followed by a discussion about common principles of current learning paradigms and the peer review process. This work is being conducted in Brazil, where we intend to promote a learning paradigm shift through the application of peer review in education. A framework for this application is outlined, together with an account of results from experiences and a discussion about the skills that this approach exercises, especially with regard to widely accepted curricula and codes of ethics and professional conduct. Further research and development efforts are conjectured.     

What Schools Need to Know About Fostering School Belonging: a Meta-analysis

Belonging is an essential aspect of psychological functioning. Schools offer unique opportunities to improve belonging for school-aged children. Research on school belonging, however, has been fragmented and diluted by inconsistency in the use of terminology. To resolve some of these inconsistencies, the current study uses meta-analysis of individual and social level factors that influence school belonging. These findings aim to provide guidance on the factors schools should emphasise to best support students. First, a systematic review identified 10 themes that influence school belonging at the student level during adolescence in educational settings (academic motivation, emotional stability, personal characteristics, parent support, peer support, teacher support, gender, race and ethnicity, extracurricular activities and environmental/school safety). Second, the average association between each of these themes and school belonging was meta-analytically examined across 51 studies (N?=?67,378). Teacher support and positive personal characteristics were the strongest predictors of school belonging. Results varied by geographic location, with effects generally stronger in rural than in urban locations. The findings may be useful in improving perceptions of school belonging for secondary students through the design of policy, pedagogy and teacher training, by encouraging school leaders and educators to build qualities within the students and change school systems and processes.     

Utilising creative methodologies to elicit the views of young learners with additional needs in literacy

The research described in this article aimed to explore and examine the dominant ‘assessment’ and ‘participation’ stories of upper‐primary pupils with long‐standing and marked literacy learning needs, their views on how their level of participation in the assessment and remediation of their additional needs might be increased and also how they perceive themselves as literacy learners. This qualitative small‐scale study adopted a case study approach and utilised creative methodologies in the context of focus groups to investigate sensitively the views and experiences of Key Stage 2 pupils with additional needs in literacy. The findings discussed here are based on the outcomes from the four Northern Irish schools that participated in the original cross‐border (Northern Ireland/Republic of Ireland) study. Findings are discussed in the context of strategies for promoting holistic and empowering pathways for learners with additional needs in literacy.